Apparatus for printing tickets



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.4

J. P. DUNN.

APPARATUS FOR PRINTING TIGKETS.

Patented Jan. 19, 1886.

31. zineiseai r A 1 I i I N. PETERS. Fhfllo-Lllhegrapher. Washlnglon. n.c.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2. J. P. DUNN.

APPARATUS FOR PRINTING TICKETS.

No. 334,697. v Patented'Jan. 19, 1886.

PETERS, Phnmumn m her. Wathingtun. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrice.

J. rams DUNN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR PRINTING TICKETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,697, dated January 19, 1856.

Application filed September 30,1884. Serial No. 144,361.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. PARIS DUNN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented new and useful improvements in apparatus for dating or printing, issuing, detaching, and registering the sales of tickets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for dating or printing, issuing, detaching, and registering the sales of tickets by automatic mechanism.

My invention is adapted for use in all places where tickets or printed slips are issued as representatives of value received; but it is more especially intended for ferries and offices of railroads, where great numbers of tickets are sold dailysuch, for instance, as the stations of the elevated roads in New York city.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide simple and accurate mechanism whereby the tickets sold shall be dated, or printed and dated, as they are issued, the sale of each ticket being registered by devices which show at any moment the gross number of sales, each individual ticket being dated, or printed and dated, detached, delivered, and registered at substantially the same moment it is sold, the entire apparatus being inclosed within a casing, which is not accessible to the cashier or official in charge.

My invention consists in the several novel features, constructions, and combinations of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, forming part of this application, Figure 1 is a vertical section taken from end to end of the machine. Fig. 2 is a detail elevation showing the inking apparatus. Fig. 3 is a detail section illustrating the operation of the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the actuatingpawl, showing a modified construction.

In the said drawings, the reference-numeral 1 denotes a casing, which is made of metal or other suitable material, and provided with a door, 2, by which access may be had'to the interior. This door is provided with a suitable lock, the key being retained by the official inspector or other person designated by the corporation to make periodical examinations (No model of the ticket-register, and see that the apparatus is properly supplied and in good running condition. The casing 1 is divided by a vertical or substantially-vertical partition, 3, into two compartments or chambers. Within one is journaled a spool, 4., upon which is wound a continuous strip of paper, 5, of such width, thickness, and quality as to adapt it to be used as a ticket-strip, by which name it will hereinafter be designated. The rotation of the spool 4 is retarded by a weighted frictionplate, 6, hinged to the casing and bearing upon the outer coil of the paper, causingasuflicient drag thereon to keep the ticket-strip always under tension. The latter, after leaving the spool, passes over a friction-pulley, 7, and thence over the surface of a narrow strip, 8, to an opening in the partition 3. Passing through this aperture it is drawn under a thin steel plate, 9, curved downward at or near its middle portion and having a central longitudinal slot, 10, extending throughout the curved part and registering with a channel, 11, in the supporting-strip 8, as shown in Fig. 1. From beneath the metal plate 9 it passes to and emerges from an aperture, 12, in the outer wall of the casing.

Above the deflected portion of the metal plate 9, and substantially concentric therewith, is journaled a shaft, 13, having its journalbearings mounted upon the side walls of the casing and carrying a gear having spurs 14, which sweep through the slot in the plate 9 when the shaft 13 is rotated. Upon said shaft is also mounted a ratchet, 15, with which a hook-pawl, 16, engages, the shank of the pawl being provided with athree-way slot, 17 ,which receives a guide-stud, 18, rigidly mounted upon the side wall of the casing. The lower extremity of the pawl-shank projects through an opening in the floor of the case, and is pivoted upon a lever, 19, having its fulcrum upon a pivot, 20, supported by lugs 21, attached to the bottom of the casing near the front. This lever is normally raised by a spring, 22, and is drawn downward against the tension of the latter by a foot-lever, 23. A holding-pawl, 24, pivoted to lugs 25 upon the partition 3, engages with a holding-ratchet, 15, upon the shaft 13, and prevents backlash of the ratchet 15. The pawl 16 being in engagement with one tooth of the ratchet 15, the operation of the foot-lever 23 will draw the pawl downward and rotate the shaft 13, together with the spurred gear 14, until the holding-pawl 24 engages with the next preceding tooth of the holding-ratchet. During this movement the three-way slot 1? guides and limits the motion of the actuating-pawl, first drawing its hooked end back to allow it to follow the are in which the ratchet-tooth moves, then guidingit vertically downward, and finally throwing it backward again to discngageit from the ratchet, the guidestud 18 reaching the upper end of the slotjust as the holdingpawl 24 drops behind the tooth upon the ratchet 15". This terminates the feed of the ticket-strip, said feed being sufficient to project one complete ticket through the opening 12 in the casing. After the feed is ended the lever 23 moves on downward, bringing the detachingknife and the printing devices into operation upon the stationary ticket-strip, as described hereinafter. As the lever 23 rises, carrying the actuating-pawl upward for a new engagement, these motions are reversed to enable the pawl to engage with the next tooth. At each partial rotation of the shaft 13 one of the spurs 14 enters the slot in the metal plate and en gages with the ticket-strip, which is fed forward a specified distance at each action of the lever 23. I have shown in the drawings four of these pointed spurs and a like number of teeth upon the ratchet 15; but it is evident that this number may be increased, although it is preferable to use the number shown.

It will be readily seen that as the spurred feedgear rotates, one at least of the points 14 will always be in engagement with the ticketstrip, and by the construction above described the advance movement of said strip will always be the same.

In order to insure complete action of the devices advancing the ticket-strip, to prevent carelessness on the part of the operator, and give notice of the issue and detachment of each ticket, a gong, 26, is placed in the casing and sounded at each stroke of the foot'lever 23 by a springactuated hammer-lever operated by a ratchet carried by the shaft 13, the arrangement of the parts being such that the retracted lever is not released by said ratchet until the moment when the ticket-strip has beencadvanced to its full limit of movement.

The continuous web of paper wound upon the spool may be entirely blank,and the whole face of each ticket may be printed thereon as the strip is advanced; or, on the other hand, the strip may be printed to form a series of connected tickets, each complete with the exception of the dating-stamp. This stamp may be appliedto the previously-printed tickets, or the whole face of each ticket may be printed and dated as the strip is advanced, by the fol lowing means: Upon a bracket, 29, upon the side wall of the casing, is pivotally mounted an arm, 30, carrying upon its outer end atypeblock, 31, having the required form for printing the face of the ticket. In the body of the type-block are journaled two, three, or more, type-wheels, 32, so arranged that their typesurfaces project through the face of the type block within the space reserved for the date. Bya simple adjustment of these wheels the date-stamp may be. altered daily. The typeblock 31 is arranged over the strip 8, upon which the ticket-strip travels, and is thrown downward to bring it in contact by the lever 19, which is connected with the lever-arm 30 by a rod, 33. which is adjacent to the type-block, is mounted an ink-fount,34,having a cap, 35,which closes the filling-opening at the top. In the bottom of the fount is formed a feed-opening, upon one side of which lies a plate, 36, which may be adjustable, and within the feed-opening is placed an ink-feeding roll, 37, journaled in brackets 38. The periphery of this roll projects slightly withintl1et'ount,and asitrevolves is constantly supplied with ink, the surfaces being removed and the distribution equalized by the edge of the feed-opening, which lies in close proximity to the roll. Upon thejournals of the roll 37 are pivoted curved arms 39, in which are journaled a series of rolls, 40, 41, and 42, each roll having surf-ac 1-contact with theadjacentrollor rolls and reeeivingink from one and conveyingit to the next throughout the series. To give positive movement to these rolls, they are geared together by gears 37- 40 41 42. Upon the lever-arm 30,at each end of the type-block, are toothed plates 43, with which the gears 42 engage. As the lever-arm rises and falls, it is evident that the gears 42" will be caused to traverse the eoggcd plates 43, thereby imparting rotation to the inking-roll 42, which passes over the type-surface as the type-block descends and deposits ink in preparation for the impression. As the type-block approaches the ticket-strip, the inking-roll passes off the type to the front of the block, as shown in Fig. 3.

A pin, 44, is attached to one of the arms 39, and receives a cord, 45, which is carried over a pulley, 46, and has a weight, 47, by which the curved arms 39, with the rolls journaled therein, are lifted to the position shown in Fig. 2 after each downward stroke. The type block 31 is raised by the force of the spring 22, which returns the actuating-lever to place.

After being printed or dated or printed and dated, as the case may be, the ticket has still to travel a short distance before emerging from the casing, during which the stampingink becomes dry enough so it may safely be handled, although it is by no means indispensable that time be afforded for this purpose. As the end of the ticket-strip emerges from the opening 12, and the instant its advance movement ceases, a knife, 48, descends and detaches a single ticket from the strip, which falls into the hopper 49 within convenient reach of the passenger or purchaser. The knife 48 is mounted in a yoke-frame, 50, and

operated by a lever, 51, pivoted beneath the Upon the wall of the casing,

ICC

mega 3 hopper 49, and actuated by a connecting-rod, 52, attached to the lever 19, and passing through aneye, 48, in the bottom of the knifeplate.

Above the shaft 13 and arranged transversely thereto is a shaft, 53, journaled in a yoke, 54, supported upon astud, 55. Upon this shaft is a worm-gear, 56, meshing with a worm upon the shaft 13. By means of this worm a registering mechanism consisting of disks 57 and 66 is operated. The front wall of the casing opposite these disks is provided with transparent planes -58 and 58", by which a view of an annular portion of the disk-face may be had as the disks revolve.

The connectingrod 33, by which the typeblock 31 is actuated, is pivoted upon a yoke, 33*, the shank of which passes through the lever-arm 30 and receives a not upon each side of said arm. By adjusting these nuts the block may be adjusted relatively to the ticket-strip, whereby the force of its stroke upon the latter may be varied.

The stroke of the knife may be adjusted by means of the connection between the rod 52 and the lever 51,which may be varied by means of the pivot-apertures 51 and 52*, formed in said parts, respectively.

The entire apparatus is actuated by a footlever, 23,which may be made in the form ofa trcadle, or of any other desired construction. This leaves both hands of the cashier at liberty and enables him to operate the mechanism without interrupting his other functions or demanding any effort of the mind.

Instead of the weight upon the hinged friction-plate 6, 1 may use a spri'ngto accomplish the same purpose; or an elastic plate may be employed thrown against the strip on the spool by its own tension.

A friction-sleeve, 18, may be placed upon the stud 18, which runs in the three-way slot 17, as shown in Fig. 4.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with a type-block carried by a pivoted arm, of toothed plates mounted on said arm, an ink-roll having gears meshing with said plates, a feed-roll supplied from an ink-fount, and intermediate rolls geared to each other and to the ink-roll, said rolls being journaled in oscillating arms, substantiallyfas described.

2. The combination, with a feedwheel, of a ratchet mounted upon the shaft of said wheel, a pawl actuating said ratchet and having a three-way slot, a rigid guide-stud engaging with said slot, and a spring-actuated lever operating the pawl, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a locked casing divided into two separate compartments, of feeding and registering mechanism wholly contained within one of said compartments,which is permanently closed, and a continuous ticket-strip with printing mechanism contained within the other, to which access is had by means of a suitable door in the casing, sub stantialiy as described.

4. The combination, with a feeding device for drawing a continuous ticket-strip from the spool upon which it is wound and printing and registering mechanism wholly contained within a locked casing, of a foot-lever operating the same and agong sounded at each complete action of said lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J. PARIS DUNN.

\Vitnesses:

KITTIE O. DUNN, LIZZIE E. DUNN. 

